Sega Overworks

Eschewing the more popular fantasy settings of Square's Final Fantasy games and Enix's Dragon Warrior series, Phantasy Star goes for a futuristic cyberpunk feel. This alone made it intriguing to a niche group of gamers who were already falling in love with the genre. Even more impressive was the fact that the first Phantasy Star actually featured a story with relatively well-drawn characters. The first Final Fantasy game featured a party of four non-descript archetypes, and Dragon Warrior wasn't a whole lot better. In this regard, Phantasy Star was relatively ahead of the curve for what was being done in these games. This would continue in the sequels, which would feature even larger stories, more characters, and in the case of the third title, an adventure that spanned generations.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Violence

I'm not sure what role-playing games Keith has been playing exactly. He seems to suggest that this genre is filled with deeply profound, ponderous epics painted in varying swaths of gray, and that Skies Of Arcadia Legends is somehow a sharp turn from these murky morality tales.

Skies Of Arcadia: Legends is a welcome twist to today's "gray" RPG genre. Ported from the original version for Sega's deceased Dreamcast system, Skies is a unique story told in a world formulated by numerous islands in the vast skies of Arcadia. Players travel this world in massive airships and navigate the "seas" in search of new lands, adventure, and of course, treasure.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes

Game Description: You must gather your own crew of air pirates and journey through uncharted skies to vanquish the empire from every corner of the map. Along the way, you'll wage battles against savage monsters and evil Pirates as you make a name for yourself on land and in the sky. For the first time you can experience the complete story of the critically acclaimed RPG, with hours of new gameplay containing additional background stories.

When discussing the advancement and progression of video games, it's not very often that an original idea comes along and jumpstarts the industry while being well-rounded enough to be praised on multiple levels. When a game is going to focus on improving or innovating the mechanics of how it's played, it often leaves behind the polish and fully-fleshed feel most gamers crave.

Game Description: You’d better not be afraid of heights if you plan on playing Skies of Arcadia. In this epic RPG, you play an air pirate who must defend the lands of Arcadia, a floating world that is under attack by an evil group of warlords. Along with your crew, the Blue Rogues, you must sail between the lands of Arcadia and fight the good fight. As your character develops new fighting skills, learns new magic, and acquires more powerful weapons, you’ll be a force to be reckoned with as you explore and defend the lands of Arcadia.

I knew that I'd like Skies Of Arcadia right from the start. It showed signs early on that it would be a wonderfully light-hearted adventure story. In a genre loaded with dark, melodramatic RPGs, having a game with such a fun spirit is refreshing. I must admit that the flying ship premise took a while to really grab me. I kept looking at these flying ships and wondering how a civilization could even exist hovering in the air—for crying out loud, fish fly through the air!—but as the game went on I suppressed my doubt and enjoyed the game for what it is.